New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which alleges that pharma company Glaxo Smithkline had conducted unauthorised trials of its vaccine on tribal girls.
The petition says that the pharma company tested the vaccine for cervical cancer on 24,000 tribal girls in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
The PIL also alleges that the testing had an adverse effect on the girls' health, and that the pharma company didn't bother to give treatment to the affected. Seven girls are alleged to have died as a consequence.
The apex court has directed that the Christian Medical College, Vellore should be asked to examine the medical records of the girls in question and submit a report to the court.
This order comes in the backdrop of allegations by activists that multinational companies are influencing state governments to carry out clinical trials on humans, which are often not transparent nor regulated efficiently.